How does Google use siteAuthority and entity recognition as Ranking Factors?

For years, marketers have been playing a game where the rulebook was kept under lock and key. Google told us one thing publicly—”we don’t use an overall domain authority score,” “links aren’t a top-three factor.”

Then, 2,500 pages of internal API documentation leaked. And the truth came out.

The leak didn’t just confirm suspicions; it blew the lid off the conventional wisdom we’ve been fed. It revealed a complex system where the metrics Google publicly downplayed are, in fact, central to how it sees and ranks your website. Two of the most critical revelations are the concepts of siteAuthority and entity recognition. Understanding them is no longer optional. It’s the new price of admission to the top of the SERPs.

The First Bombshell: siteAuthority Is Real

Let’s be blunt. The leaked documents confirm Google uses a site-wide authority score to rank websites. This feature, called siteAuthority, functions exactly like the “Domain Authority” metric Google has publicly denied using for years.

This isn’t just about semantics. It’s a fundamental measure of your website’s overall quality, credibility, and trustworthiness in the eyes of Google. A higher siteAuthority score gives your entire site a lift. A lower score means you’re fighting an uphill battle, no matter how good your individual pages are.

So, what fuels this score? The leak points to two primary components:

1. PageRank is Still King: The documents show that PageRank—the original system based on the quality and quantity of backlinks—is still very much alive and integral to calculating siteAuthority. Every high-quality, relevant link is a vote that boosts your authority. The diversity and credibility of your backlink profile matter immensely.
2. User Engagement is a Deciding Factor: The leak gives us an unprecedented look at a system called NavBoost. This system uses clickstream data from the Chrome browser to measure user satisfaction. It tracks “good clicks,” “bad clicks,” and—most importantly—the “longest clicks,” which signal that a user found what they were looking for on your page. Positive user engagement directly signals to Google that your site has authority.

The Second Bombshell: You’re Not a Keyword, You’re an Entity

The other critical revelation is the depth of Google’s focus on entity recognition. An entity is any real-world object, person, place, or concept—like a brand, a CEO, a product, or a scientific theory.

Google is no longer just matching keywords; it is building a comprehensive understanding of your brand as a real-world entity. It wants to know who you are, what you’re an expert in, and whether the world trusts you. A website is just one data point in this much larger “entity” file.

How does Google build its understanding of your entity?

• It analyzes your on-site structured data (Schema Markup) to understand who you are, where you’re located, and what you offer.
• It tracks brand mentions across the entire web—linked or unlinked—to see who is talking about you.
• It heavily weighs mentions on high-authority sites like Wikipedia, trusted directories, and news publications.
• It analyzes the sentiment of customer reviews and social media conversations about your brand.

If Google sees you as a trusted, authoritative entity on a specific topic, it will reward you with visibility. If you’re just a collection of keywords with no real-world presence, you will be ignored.

Your New Playbook: How to Optimize for Authority and Entities

The leak didn’t change the game; it revealed the real rules. This new understanding requires a strategic shift away from narrow, keyword-focused SEO towards a holistic approach to building a powerful brand entity. Here is your action plan.

1. Build a Foundation of Trust and Quality (UX)

Your siteAuthority is directly tied to user experience. A frustrating, slow, or untrustworthy site gets “bad clicks” and tanks your score.

• Obsess Over Site Speed: Use Google PageSpeed Insights to diagnose and fix performance issues. A fast, stable site (good Core Web Vitals) is a fundamental trust signal.
• Be Mobile-Perfect: Your site must be flawless on mobile. There is no negotiation on this point.
• Create Clear Navigation: A simple, logical site architecture helps both users and Google’s crawlers understand your content hierarchy.
• Lock It Down with HTTPS: A secure site is non-negotiable for building trust.

2. Create Content That Screams Authority (E-E-A-T)

The principles of E-E-A-T are the human-facing side of siteAuthority and entity recognition. This is how you prove your worth.

• Demonstrate First-Hand Experience: Share case studies with real data. Write reviews based on actual product use. Tell personal stories of your successes and failures. This is the “Experience” that an AI cannot fake.
• Showcase Verifiable Expertise: Your content must be created or reviewed by true subject-matter experts. Include detailed author bios with credentials, accomplishments, and links to their professional profiles.
• Build Overwhelming Authoritativeness: Actively pursue digital PR to get your brand mentioned and cited on respected industry websites. Showcase awards, certifications, and affiliations. This builds your entity’s reputation.
• Cultivate Radical Trustworthiness: Be transparent. Provide clear contact information. Cite your sources. Ensure every claim is factually accurate.

3. Make It Easy for AI to Understand You (Technical Optimization)

You need to spoon-feed Google’s AI with clear, structured information about your entity.

• Implement Comprehensive Schema Markup: Use Organization, LocalBusiness, Product, FAQPage, and HowTo schema. This is like giving Google a structured résumé for your brand, making it easy to parse and cite.
• Format for “Snippet-Worthiness”: Use clear headings, bullet points, numbered lists, and tables. Directly answer questions in your text. This makes your content easy for AI to extract for Overviews.
• Optimize for Entities, Not Just Keywords: Ensure your brand name, key people, and products are consistently named and described. Build out your presence in Google’s Knowledge Graph by securing a Google Business Profile and, if you meet notability requirements, a Wikipedia page.

4. Dominate Your Digital Ecosystem (OmniSEO)

Your entity exists far beyond your website’s domain. Google is watching everywhere.

• Expand Your Presence: Actively build your brand on platforms where your audience lives and where AI is listening. This includes YouTube, LinkedIn, Quora, and industry-specific forums like Reddit.
• Leverage Social Proof: Actively manage and encourage customer reviews on Google Business Profile, Trustpilot, and other trusted platforms. AI models evaluate this sentiment when deciding if your entity is trustworthy.

The Final Word

The Google leak was a gift. It ended the speculation and gave us a clear, actionable blueprint. The path to visibility is no longer about finding clever loopholes or chasing short-term keyword wins.

It’s about building a real, credible, and authoritative brand. It’s about creating content so valuable that it earns the trust of both human users and Google’s increasingly intelligent algorithms. The marketers who understand this shift—who stop “doing SEO” and start building brand entities—are the ones who will dominate the search results for years to come.